Astro Teller isn’t afraid of killing ideas; here’s why

TechCrunch’s editor-in-chief, Connie Loizos, sits down with Astro Teller, Captain of Moonshots at Alphabet’s X, to explore what it takes to build a factory for truly radical innovation. Astro reveals the three components that define a true moonshot—a huge problem, a science fiction-sounding solution, and a glimmer of breakthrough technology—and why X deliberately kills 98% of its ideas early. Teller also explains why X keeps teams incredibly small, how it decides between spinning companies out independently versus keeping them as Alphabet “other bets” like Waymo and Wing, and his take on AI hype—why we should stop treating it like magic and start treating it like electricity. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices